Give me a day. I’ll sort out this tax avoidance

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David Cameron is right to highlight tax at the G8 – but if we’re going to sound tough about it we’ve got to mean it

I mean, for God’s sake. It’s only a cup of coffee. How hard can it be? You buy
the thing in Britain, you pay VAT on it in Britain. The company that is
selling it to you — probably at a vast mark-up, given that your coffee is 75
per cent foamy milk and at least 20 per cent loathsome urban affectation —
pays corporation tax in Britain. This is how it ought to work. And if it
doesn’t, somebody is cheating.

Put me in charge of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. I could sort
this stuff out in an afternoon. “What?”